Claire listened while trying her best to memorize what each gadget did.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp5GaBnP6vs
These weren’t just flashy props—they were more precise, more grounded than anything she'd seen in a movie. Almost everything had a backup system or some kind of emergency override.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxLpTmhuju5
Calling this place a “safehouse” was generous.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM8J8Pkjoxs
It was a bunker. A battle-ready one.
“That’s the comm terminal,” Nightwing said, pointing to a row of devices on the wall.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡT44jGSGUQZ
“If you need to reach us, hit this. But only during this window—”
“—before the reset kicks in,” Robin finished, matter-of-factly.
Batman added next. He handed Claire a slip of paper with a long string of numbers and symbols.
“This is the door code. You’ll need it to get in. No keys, no fingerprint ID, no voice recognition—none of that survives the loop. Memorize it.”
Then came weapons hour.
His voice dropped, colder. He picked up a gun and handed it to her, but didn’t let go immediately.
“Only use it to protect yourself. Never to strike first.”
His gaze cut through her—through muscle, bone, marrow.
“I know you’re not a bad person, Claire.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYI79GpmeKe
But that doesn’t mean you won’t make a bad choice under pressure.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnkgkcIvFa
This is a weapon, not magic. It doesn’t solve problems. It just ends them.”
Claire swallowed and nodded.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQHE6KB6VZ
I’m a good citizen.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ57KtIXIiZs
Really.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp3AtAmbkVZ
I’ll aim it at the crack, and only at the crack.
They circled back to the crack.
Notes spread across the table. Claire had drawn a few sketches—long shapes, sky proportions from what she saw with her eyes closed.
“What if it’s not just appearing,” Nightwing said, “but actually… approaching?”
“Then the point of contact is her,” Batman replied, circling her name at the center of a page.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAE0saVL1jT
“It’s fishing. Claire’s the bait.”
Every conclusion went onto paper.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjDNlFbxKL8
Paper remembered. Claire had to remember too. Just in case paper didn’t make it through.
By the next noon, Claire was slumped over the table, hand still resting on a sheet labeled PLAN F.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUQ1BJOjmJU
Her head buzzed, vision blurred, like someone had pressed rewind on her brain.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3EmIpJTLBC
It was happening again.
“No…” she tried to say.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFb2GQZdx8
But all she managed was a twitch of the fingers, a faint tap on the letter F.
Footsteps.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfHYTa3HfBM
Someone approached.
Arms wrapped around her.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrGbpbV0aX
Firm, steady. Familiar.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFD5S62gdEa
There was the faint scent of shampoo in the air—clean, comforting.
She squirmed, barely.
This isn’t my bed, she wanted to mumble.
But she had no strength. Her body gave in to the embrace, tucked beneath a blanket.
Right before slipping under again, only one thought remained:
Screw it. I’ll just come back tomorrow.
30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKapXsrse40
Claire got used to it. For real.
She hadn’t expected to find rhythm in the repetition—not just survive, but start to live well-ish, like some glitch-proof war correspondent who recalibrates her memory each morning before heading back into chaos.
Every day started the same:30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlPnJL8E0EJ
She woke up and wrote down the number of times she’d repeated the day.
She wasn’t sure if her count was accurate anymore, but at least it gave her something solid to check against.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx6nA6uBY2P
Something to prove she hadn’t snapped.
Then she opened the café.
The soft ding of the door chime gave her the daily illusion that the world was still spinning as usual. The hiss of the espresso machine kicked in. She counted the seconds.
Waited for the footsteps.
If Claire’s bagels weren’t available until 10 a.m.—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmSMwhinGpe
That cop named Dick would show up. In uniform. Hands in pockets. Always on time.
If Claire mentioned ghosts, or sounded a little unhinged—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAfpwlNBBR6
Like asking, “Do you think a soul can get stuck in a single moment?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCjtDlHUKpa
Or, “If today is yesterday again, then where did yesterday go?”30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQBwBT7dzEY
Or anything else that made her sound like she needed to be gently escorted into psychiatric care—
The informant at the counter would discreetly alert Nightwing.
That’s how she found out “I might be having a breakdown” was an actual trigger phrase to summon a superhero.
She sometimes wondered:30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfMjDpjcqz3
Who designed this whole failsafe system? Batman?
And sure enough, Nightwing would show up later that night.
Looking very much like he was “just passing by.”
Then he’d sit down. And start coaxing answers out of her.
But honestly?30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC5iMuySY07
She’d already discovered a faster method.
Just leave a bagel on the balcony at 11 p.m.—30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxvONvkS7Zs
Worked three out of three times.
So depending on her mood, Claire chose her summoning style.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwoYfaQmN2s
Same result either way. Just different openings.
Still, she preferred the “mental breakdown” version.
Especially since Nightwing always looked visibly conflicted when it happened.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRrbIluDndc
Every time, he’d stare at her for a few seconds, calculating how much he should trust her today.
That expression—hesitant and tight—like she’d just told him the Earth was about to explode, and he had to smile back and go, “Cool. Let’s finish this coffee first.”
He had range.
Worry. Frustration. Doubt. Guilt.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZ0Ok3uqDb
Claire kept a mental chart: Nightwing’s Emotional Weather: Today’s Forecast.
In some twisted way, it felt like watching a drama series.
And she liked it.
Because in this endless loop, the only thing that really changed…30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVBcWg9MFHp
Was the light in his eyes.30Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9tg350R4MQ
and then Add to home screen.